The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship gets under way this week at Rallye Monte-Carlo, arguably one of the most unpredictable rallies of the year.
Sébastien Ogier’s rally to lose? An opportunity for Thierry Neuville to lay down a marker? Will Kalle Rovanperä really opt for caution like he’s said he will?
These questions, and more, will be answered with the commencement of the 2025 Monte Carlo Rally – the opening round of a new World Rally Championship season.
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team returns to the illustrious backdrop of Monaco for Rallye Monte-Carlo (January 23-26), round one of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season, targeting a strong team result.
Starting the new season with a slate wiped clean, fresh objectives have been set for the team – including the pursuit of the manufacturers’ title – and it is hoping to set the tone for the season by starting the charge towards these aims in Monte-Carlo. However, with new regulations, a new tyre manufacturer, unpredictable conditions and strong competition, it will be no easy feat to reach at this treacherous winter event.
A trio of crews will be in the cockpit of the three Hyundai i20 N Rally1 entries in the principality: reigning champions Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe, Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja and Hyundai Motorsport rookies Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria.
Combining Neuville and Tänak’s seasoned expertise with Fourmaux’s emerging talent creates a well-rounded squad, giving Hyundai Motorsport the perfect recipe for a strong start to the season at round one in Monaco.
This year’s Rallye Monte-Carlo features an overhauled itinerary designed to challenge the competing crews, with a total of 115.59km of new or returning roads compared to the 2024 edition.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will embark on a 2025 FIA World Rally Championship campaign full of new challenges when the classic season opener.
Double world champions Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen return to full-time competition alongside Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin, the 2024 championship runners-up.
Sébastien Ogier will target a record-extending 10th victory on the Monte – which is based in his hometown of Gap in the French Alps – as he begins another partial campaign alongside co-driver Vincent Landais.
These three crews are nominated to compete for manufacturers’ points for TGR-WRT on round one, ably supported by Takamoto Katsuta and navigator Aaron Johnston in a fourth entry.
Sami Pajari, the 2024 WRC2 champion, begins his first full season in the top category, for which he has reunited with experienced co-driver Marko Salminen.
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team are ready and raring to launch into the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season on Rallye Monte-Carlo next week with drivers Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean.
Two Ford Puma Rally1 cars will line-up in Casino Square on Thursday afternoon, as Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka, and Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy prepare to take on the challenging season opener.
After a successful pre-event test in the Hautes-Alpes region, Munster and McErlean experienced both dry Tarmac and full-snow conditions to prepare themselves for the varied challenge of Rallye Monte-Carlo. The only mixed-surface event of the season, the iconic event raises a unique challenge for its competitors when making their selection of all-new Hankook tyres in Gap this week.
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is thrilled to announce that the Latvian pairing, Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis, will return to it’s Rally1 ranks for a six-round season in the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship.
With their first appearance of 2025 taking place on Rally Sweden next month, Sesks and Francis will make their highly anticipated return to M-Sport’s Ford Puma Rally1 after their stunning debut performances last year.
